Nine-month-old baby girl battles meningitis in intensive care as outbreak continues
A nine-month-old girl is critically ill in hospital with severe meningitis as an “explosive” outbreak in Kent continues.
Nala-Rose Fletcher, from Folkestone, is currently in intensive care at Evelina London Children’s Hospital and doctors have said she will be permanently affected by the infection. It is unclear whether her illness is connected to the ongoing outbreak.
A JustGiving page has been set up to support her parents, Nick Fletcher and Danielle Trott, and has so far raised more than £5,000.
On 13 March, the parents thanked people for their support and issued an update on Nala’s condition.
They wrote: “Nothing can truly prepare you for the pain and fear that comes with what we’ve been living through — and are still living through.
“There have been moments that have felt utterly overwhelming, and at times desperately lonely. But you — all of you — have blown us away completely. The kindness you’ve shown us, through your generosity and your words of support, has meant more than we can express.”
The parents said Nala is “still very poorly and remains in intensive care”, adding she will require a number of operations in the coming days and weeks.
“We already know she will be left with lasting difficulties for the rest of her life, and that’s something we’re only beginning to come to terms with,” they added.
It comes as health chiefs say they are now investigating 20 cases of meningitis among young adults in Kent. Two students have died during the outbreak, including an unnamed University of Kent student and sixth-form pupil Juliette Kenny from Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Faversham.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed the rise, up from 15, adding it is deploying a national response to the crisis.
Of these, nine cases have been confirmed in the lab and 11 remain under investigation. Six of the cases so far have been confirmed as the meningitis B strain.
A statement said: “All those affected who are currently linked to the outbreak are young adults.
“UKHSA is aware of a baby with confirmed meningococcal group B infection who is not currently linked to the outbreak but UKHSA will continue to investigate this case.”
GPs across the country have now been told to prescribe antibiotics to anyone who visited Club Chemistry in Canterbury from 5 to 7 March, plus students from the University of Kent.
This is to ensure anyone who has left campus can make sure they get the right treatment.
UKHSA chief executive Susan Hopkins said on Tuesday that officials were looking at a “super-spreader event”.
She added: “I can’t yet say where the initial infection came from, how it’s got into this cohort, and why it’s created such an explosive amount of infections.
“I can say that in my 35 years working in medicine, in healthcare and hospitals, this is the most cases I’ve seen in a single weekend with this type of infection.
“It’s the explosive nature that is unprecedented here – the number of cases in such a short space of time.”
Trish Mannes, UKHSA regional deputy director for the South East, said antibiotics are “the main intervention that will help protect people and halt the spread of the outbreak”.
She added 5,000 University of Kent students at the Canterbury campus will be offered a menB jab, “with the possibility that it may be extended, as it is kept under continual review”.
